Sorcerers, brainstorms and boy racers – top Dubai stories of 2013

It’s hard to explain, sometimes, what life is like in Dubai. I often feel like the city is like a showgirl dressed up to dance on the world stage. With the eyes of the world on her, everything is bigger-better-best, record-breaking, boundary-smashing, extravagant and ultra-modern.

But, when the showgirl goes home at night, she takes off her makeup, she unpins her hair and puts on her pyjamas – underneath the showiness, the excess, Dubai remains a simple city governed by simple values: family, loyalty, trust, honesty, generosity, hospitality. It’s perhaps this paradox that’s most difficult for outsiders to grasp.

Within the boundary of 24 hours, life here can be everything from exhilarating, rewarding and empowering to surprising, confusing and frustrating. All we expats can do is navigate our way through the challenges thrown at us, smiling at the sublime and laughing at the ridiculous. Today I’ve picked a selection of stories from 2013 that, for me, encapsulate the unique essence of life in Dubai:

Reaching for the sky: Seeing Burj Khalifa every day reminds us that anything’s possible.

Sheikh Mohammed calls for “national brainstorm” – Prior to a cabinet retreat in December, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, asked every “man, woman and child” in the UAE to help him come up with new ways to develop the health and education sectors of the UAE. Residents were encouraged to upload, email or Tweet ideas direct to the government. This humble, inclusive approach is typical of HH Sheikh Mohammed’s style and the initiative demonstrated for me why our ruler is so beloved by nationals and expats alike.

Teen driver nabbed after clocking up AED 15,000 fines– While it’s not ideal that an 18-year-old felt he could get away with racing at 240kph (150mph) on Dubai’s roads, the essence of Dubai, for me, lay in Dubai Police’s response: “A police patrol asked him to stop, but he refused… we did not chase him because we were afraid for other road users that he would cause a serious accident. So we later went to his home and seized his car.” And why would they not? One, the authorities know exactly where you live and, two, this is not the UK: boy racers here don’t steal cars and you just know that, come bedtime, the perpetrator’s car would have skidded to a halt outside his mother’s house.

More mega-projects – 2013 saw Dubai announce a plethora of new mega-projects ranging from Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid City and Dubai Safari to Dubai Waterway and the world’s largest man-made lagoon. Part of the magic of living in Dubai is the ability to read about these things while managing not to choke on your Cornflakes; rather to believe in them, to see the immense potential and, within a year or two, to see them come to fruition. In a place where mega-projects are the norm, you get the exhilarating feeling that anything’s possible and that’s a feeling that trickles down to your personal life. Honestly, over here, anything really is possible.

The sorcerers who made money “rain from the sky” – It wouldn’t be Dubai without a good sorcerer story and my favourite this year came courtesy oftwo chancers who claimed they could make money “rain from the sky”. After asking victims how much money they’d like to receive, they’d show a couple of hundred dollars as “proof” that the jinn (spirits) agreed to give them the money. Then they’d ask for AED30,000 (£5,540) in order to buy a magic juice for the jinn to make them hand over the remaining money. We see scams like this all the time; they still make me smile. Seriously Dubai? Seriously?

Annabel Kantaria is a journalist who’s lived in the UAE long enough to call it home. She’d quite like to ride a camel to work; she’s totally over gold-plated supercars; and, while she does believe in fantastical mega-projects, she’ll never believe money rains from the sky. Follow her on Twitter: @BellaKay; and on Instagram: dubaipix